The Hibbing Public Utilities Commission paid a $17,245 fine and took corrective actions after violating its allotted carbon monoxide emissions limits several times and missing deadlines for emissions testing reports.

An investigation from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency found that the public utilities commission's wood-fired boiler went over several times in 2021 and 2022. The reports are meant to monitor small and very small particles from their cool and wood-fired boilers, according to a news release.

Since the investigation, the public utilities commission has submitted a plan to make sure the boiler doesn't again exceed its limits and another to make sure the emissions performances test are done by deadlines.

Penalties are determined by the seriousness of the effects — or potential effects — on the environment and whether there have been previous violations.